The Oracle Paths

An hour earlier, just as Jake was being atomized to oblivion by the ferocious

plasma storm...

Jake and Saros were cornered in a room that had become a furnace of blistering heat, chaotic winds, and world-ending radiation. The brightness had escalated to such magnitude that even if Jake still possessed his eyes, he wouldn't have been able to see beyond his nose.

As a twisted stroke of irony, he still had them. Amid the indiscriminate, all-consuming destruction of the plasma onslaught, three organs of Jake had survived the catastrophic annihilation that his body could not. They weren't his bones, resembling long black diamonds threaded with veins of silver-blue light, nor his Voidsteel chitin scales. Instead, it was three unexpected organs: his two eyes and his pineal gland.

His eyes, usually a weak point for most species, turned out to be the most resilient organs in his body, owing to their optimization to handle his Cosmic Sight. This bloodline ability rendered his eyes as sturdy as an Aether Artefact, though his status did not specify the grade.

Jake now knew they were about half a grade tougher than the hardest material he could currently conjure through his Chitin Scales and Cosmic Manipulation. Just enough to withstand the plasma storm for a fraction of a second longer, their resilience nearly equaling a Silver Aether Artefact's defense.

As for his pineal gland, it served as a substitute for the Aether Soul Core he had lost upon acquiring his new bloodline. In many cultures, this endocrine gland located at the brain's center, responsible for producing melatonin, was rumored to be the seat of the soul, a delicacy for quite a few mythical monsters.

For Jake, it seemed this pineal gland had finally lived up to its promises, drifting like a black gem in the roiling ocean of incandescent plasma. His soul had long since sought refuge within it, controlling his body from the safety within as the heat kept rising.

Nevertheless, his eyes didn't survive much longer, melting and dispersing in the plasma storm like a dandelion in the spring breeze within a breath's time.

With only his pineal gland remaining, Jake was utterly bereft of his senses within and responded with the only thing he could still do: he unleashed his vitality.

The dangerously glowing pineal gland then emitted a radiant white-gold-emerald light, combining his understanding of the Life Element and his Constitution and Vitality Aether. His metabolism kick-started immediately.

Given his current Vitality, Jake could regenerate his entire body in less than 0.05 seconds, provided he had even a single intact cell left. Thanks to his Grade 10 Energy, he could even regenerate his body 16 times in a row before starting to feel the consequences.

0.05 seconds was an eternity amidst a plasma storm heated to hundreds of millions of degrees, hence Jake had activated another defensive measure prior to this.

"Artefact Incarnation: Purgatory."

His pineal gland, now enveloped in a majestic white-gold-emerald halo, burst forth with a radiance thousands of times brighter, abruptly rewriting reality. The blinding white plasma storm ebbed, making way for a strange city floating amidst space.

Upon its appearance, an intangible force field in the shape of a dome immediately covered the city, effectively isolating it from the plasma storm that threatened to engulf it again at the slightest sign of weakness.

The design of the city vaguely reminded Jake of his own Floating Island, though there were differences. A mysterious, black steel building stood majestically at the center of the structure, reminiscent of some sort of extraterrestrial temple. Its surface was threaded with veins of black-blue-silver light, creating an

indescribable environment where the laws of physics behaved oddly.

Had Lucia or anyone else from his past Ordeal been present, they would have instantly recognized the structure dominating the landscape's center, for it was a monument bestowed to each victor of Quanoth's final battle-a Silver Mana Artefact. This defensive artifact not only served various auxiliary roles for its owner, but also proved indispensable for their survival.

In addition to being an Aether generator equivalent to a Grade 8 Aether Core, capable of producing billions to trillions of Aether points daily, based on local Aether density, the stored Aether was converted into an energy perfectly compatible with its wielder. As a soul-bound artifact, these sanctuaries could neither be sold nor traded, for it would require an Evolver of unspeakable idiocy to

wish to rid themselves of such an invaluable asset.

The sanctuary that Jake had conjured in the heart of the Purgatory was not the genuine artifact, but an illusory replica emulating its properties. The true Sanctuary still resided within his Space Storage. While he could have summoned it to shield himself from the raging plasma storm, the physical damage it could sustain, unlike his illusory Purgatory, would leave him with nothing but regret.

As he fretted over the endurance of his mental construct, a breathtaking woman with mid-length black hair and intense crimson-black eyes suddenly materialized before him in her jade armor.

"Xi, tell me how my Purgatory is holding up," Jake requested, his voice taut with worry.

Fully aware of the direness of the situation, Xi wasted no time and briskly responded, her eyes glittering with a joyous spark that stirred his heart.

"Given that your Grade 10 Energy and Cosmic Attribute extend to your Artefact Incarnations, your Purgatory is currently converting heat, radiation, and even plasma into usable energy to sustain its upkeep. Unexpectedly, the extended range of the Purgatory has significantly boosted its absorption capabilities."

"Great!" Jake cried out, his fist clenched in triumph and his face alight with a vibrant grin. But the smile faded instantly when he scanned his surroundings and found no trace of Saros. Logically, by deploying his Purgatory, the alien should have been encapsulated within it.

"Did he escape? Or is he already dead?" Jake's countenance darkened at the contemplation of the latter, not so far-fetched possibility.

"No, that's not it." Xi shook her head. "When your Purgatory expanded, the plasma receded for several kilometers without resistance. The room you were in wasn't that spacious... This indicates that the Voidsteel walls confining you have given way."

Cursing himself for not considering this, Jake facepalmed. The Dungeon Digestor's insidious plan had caught him so off-guard that he had inadvertently overestimated the creature. Fortunately, it too had its limits.

Recognizing that the Dungeon Digestor had also paid a hefty price to eliminate them instantly soothed his perturbed spirit.

"Still... How long is this plasma storm supposed to last?" Jake grumbled, his countenance bleak as he noticed the shield of his Purgatory starting to crackle ominously.

Although the forcefield's protection filtered the excess radiation, making it less evident, Jake's heightened perception had already taken note of the increasing brilliance of the white plasma at the edge of his illusory domain.

This indicated that the conversion chamber's funnel was still relentlessly pumping more plasma into their dead-end room, presumably their final resting place. More matter in a finite container would invariably lead to rapid pressure and temperature increases within it. At least until it gave way.

Xi had already pointed out that the plasma had begun to erode the nearest Voidsteel walls, expanding its playground, but the plasma's escalating intensity implied that its density was increasing faster than the expansion of its container.

No need to be a genius to see where this distressing conclusion was heading."Fuck. The Purgatory won't hold." Jake concluded at once. "Xi, we need a better solution."

Having gained a bit of time, their confidence was somewhat restored. For starters, Jake still had his real Sanctuary, a safe haven like a turtle's shell if the situation took a drastic turn.

But he quickly dismissed that idea. The round shield that Saros had summoned was also a defensive Silver Aether Artefact, but it had lasted only a few seconds against the plasma storm. Admittedly, it was an ordinary artifact, its worth given by its materials and attribute bonuses to the wielder, but it was still silver grade.

His Sanctuary was superior, able to activate a protective energy shield in emergencies at a substantial Aether cost, but Jake preferred not to test it.

As he pondered a solution with Xi, his vision abruptly blurred and when it stabilized again, his eyes widened in shock as a mountain of incandescent plasma crashed into his face.

"DAMN IT!" Jake cursed, realizing he was falling prey to another temporal distortion.

He could not discern the exact extent, but his perception of time had surged so swiftly in an ephemeral moment that one might almost say his consciousness had been hurled into the future. Several minutes into the future, to be precise.

His body was instantaneously disintegrated, even faster than before, but this time, he was prepared. With decisive quickness, he re-summoned his Purgatory, taking refuge within it before his body even began regenerating.

A moment later, Jake reappeared unscathed in the same spot, a grave and ugly expression on his face. He hadn't expected that the entity causing these temporal distortions could reach him within his Purgatory World.

That changed everything.

"Xi, let's hurry, we only have a few minu-"

SLAM!

He didn't even finish his sentence when his vision shifted again, a sea of plasma raining down on him the next microsecond. His body was obliterated instantaneously.

When Jake finished regenerating his body within his Purgatory a moment later, his earlier confidence and bravado had evaporated.

Xi's hologram reappeared at his side, a serious expression etched on her beautiful face as she solemnly declared,

"Jake, forget the plasma storm. We need to deal with these temporal distortions first. Otherwise, if it continues like this, I can assure you, you're going to die."